It has been a lot longer than anticipated since my previous post regarding my build but it has been a busy month. Will try my best to post every Thursday. Today's post is about the joining process of the back and further preparation of the raw tonewoods.
The joining jig. Once the plate is joined and one it is placed on the jig and the string from the paddle is unraveled. There is a knot in the end of the strong and locked into the notch at the bottom left of the steel beam. From there the string is looped and wrapped under each part of the opposite end of the beam creating V shaped loops. The wooden wedges are then hammered in with a wooden mallet (dubbed "the punisher" by my mentor) through the loops created by wrapping the string around the steel beams. This adds tension and further tightens the pull inwards on the string.
The back is joined by first running the bookmatched plates mating surfaces through the jointer and then finely touched up in the shooting board. We use the candling process to determine if there is any more planing to do in the shooting board. The same process follows for joining the top. We join the plates in a traditional joining jig. Not like the one used in The Guitarmaking book by Natelson & Cumpiano, but the jig used early on by Jean Larrivee and his former apprentices. Either method works exceptionally.
After sitting in the jig for 24hrs, the joined back is removed and I begin to scrape the dried squeeze out with a scraper. From there the back is ran through the thickness sander. The target is to have the back between 0.095" - 0.100". For more dense tonewoods (such as this Macassar ebony) it ideally would be closer to the 0.095" and my back was thinned down to 0.093"
Once thinned and cleaned up the back is cut to oversize shape, approx. 1/4" larger than needed.
Finally the sides are then ran through the thickness sander. This, like any thicknessing process, is very monotonous but essential nonetheless. The sides target thickness is 0.080" - 0.083" and my sides were at 0.081" once completed.
Next weeks post will be more photos and a description of getting the backstrip inlayed, sides bent, and sides rough fitted into the body shape mold. Have a great week everyone!